'Hoping for More': Fans Speak on MI, CSK, KKR Performance in IPL 2022

[00:00:00] Hello and welcome to the Big Story Podcast, I am your host, Ahmed. Today we are trying a new format of the podcast given the hot topic of the summer of IPL 2022. Now this season

[00:00:23] of IPL saw quite a few overhauls, two new teams being added, the mega auction where teams merged close to 550 crore rupees for 204 players to construct some new squads. We also saw some iconic names going missing and some new captain's

[00:00:38] been out. There seems to be some and or a lot of change this season and in a quick glance at the points table tells the same story as well. Three of the most successful and story teams in the history of the IPL, Mumbai Indians and NICE Super Kings

[00:00:52] and Kolkata Nightriders are languishing at the bottom of the points table. Here is a quick roundup of where these teams stand. Mumbai which is at the bottom of the table has made history by losing their first eight matches. Chennai

[00:01:05] who is one rung above Mumbai has lost six of the eight matches which has stayed so far and lastly we have Kolkata which has lost six of the nine matches that has stayed so far. But the big question is what has happened to

[00:01:17] these three iconic teams? Is it just plain bad luck or does the problem go deeper? In today's episode, we take these questions to die-hard fans of these teams. Joining me today are my colleagues, my three hires, Meghna

[00:01:27] Pooz, Devan Tattar and Subhashy Bhakar. Guys welcome to the Big Story podcast. It's always a pleasure having you guys on board and speaking to you as well. Hi. Hi, nice to meet you. Okay.

[00:01:39] I just say as a Kolkata fan, I can feel better about the fact that CSK and Mumbai are below us and that you know I can safely say that this is just not the year for champions. Only a Kolkata fan would be happy to be eight.

[00:01:52] I am not over yet. So don't be very happy with your seventh position. Oh no, this is ninth position. This is what I'm telling myself. The KTR fan would be happy being eight. Devan. Alright so let's start. I want to start with Mumbai Indians and their performance

[00:02:07] so far in the season. They have won zero matches so far. They've won performance. Yeah, they have won zero matches so far and the team seem to be struggling to find some solid ground under their feet.

[00:02:19] Meghna, you have been very vocal about supporting MI and have been a die-hard fan for a very long time clearly but what seems to be ailing your team? See the fun thing about Mumbai is that every year, every single IPL season we have a terrible start.

[00:02:34] Right so there's this, there's the thing I like saying that form is temporary but Mumbai starting the year badly is permanent. Right but and this year we come armed right? We come prepared to lose the first two three matches. So you lose the first one.

[00:02:51] You're like yeah Mumbai Indians back to business. You lose the second one of course you're losing the second one. You lose the third one and like we've done that before and still qualified to the playoffs. You lose the fourth one and you start getting worried

[00:03:04] but losing the first eight matches is something that's absolutely incredible for lack of a better word. I think right now we're in an inertia of loss where we're going into the matches and you see the team when the team starts getting pummeled in the early on

[00:03:27] it's like they completely demoralized demotivated that they've lost so many but I think a couple of the key things that we're seeing by the way just so that those who are listening to this podcast also remember Mumbai has won the IPL MOT 9s than any other team.

[00:03:44] Don't cry. Five IPL trophies more than anyone. Interestingly the thing is that the team that has won the most number of times is last. The team that's won the second most number of times that Chennai with four titles is second last and the team that's won the third

[00:04:04] highest number of times that KKR is actually third last. But I think for one coming back to the question you asked I think one of the key things that hasn't been working for Mumbai is for example its clear retention strategy. We chose to retain say for example KP

[00:04:20] and Pollard has really underperformed by his standards and seeing how hard it Pandya has been batting just from the dint of his batting it might like we're left wondering whether it would have been a smarter strategy to actually retain a Pandya than a Pollard because

[00:04:40] Pollard seems to be past his prime and that's what even Harsha Bungalai was saying on commentary the other day. So was it a wise choice to keep Pollard back? That's one I think the second is we're completely down on confidence

[00:04:53] and third is I think the auction strategy did go a bit off there was so much that was spent on getting like the buys that Mumbai really wanted to get like for example like Ishan Kishan but the rest of the auction strategies just seem to be

[00:05:09] I don't know it might be easy for us to say this but it seemed meek. I wanted to know what did you think about Mumbai Indians going very hard on getting Joffra Ajab but him not being even available for the season.

[00:05:22] Do you think there was internal realisation that we are going to sacrifice this season as well in some way? Yes see that makes sense right that makes sense if you're the Congress party not if you're an IPL team that you sacrifice this election telling yourself

[00:05:35] if you're going to prepare for the next one. But jokes apart it look getting Joffra Ajab in a mega auction is great but do you get a Joffra Ajab who won't play this season at the cost of building your team this season especially when it's a mega auction

[00:05:53] one that happens every few years when you're building literally a whole team apart from like around four players who you've retained. So the auction strategy was definitely a bit off

[00:06:06] and we discussed the other teams as well because I'm nice like sort of dissing my own team so much. I think you have done the job of both the deviant of the end my three years

[00:06:16] but I don't think you have to speak for anything when it comes to dissing Mumbai. Although I do have one question for Megha this is something I have noted in Mumbai. Do you think okay even if somebody didn't watch the games

[00:06:27] and even if somebody just looked at all the scorecards every day in the newspaper or Fitbhas whatever do you still think that in your bowling lineup there is a lack of senior bowlers because I think every other team has at least two experienced bowlers

[00:06:41] whereas your team has only just three Pumbra everybody else has very little experience in international cricket. SRH the team I support has Bhuvaneshwar Kumar it has what's the sub... Where's the questions of the... Questions?

[00:06:53] This is boasting about SRH bowling lineup while pretending to frame it as a question. I didn't even talk about Umran Malik. I was talking about Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Marco Janssen I didn't even bring up Umran Malik so I was just boasting.

[00:07:04] My question was other than Bumbra you don't have any other bowler who has international cricket experience do you think that's a factor in your bowling? If you hadn't framed this question as so much of an SRH boast

[00:07:15] I'd probably have been more pragmatic in my answer but the thing is that look we're failing on all departments right in bowling and in batting our biggest batters having sort of stuck form. Rohit has been struggling, Pollard has been struggling

[00:07:33] and you know that's the thing right like I keep coming back to Pollard because Pollard has been at the crease in those tight situations where we've been chasing where you hope that a Pollard will pull off Adhoti

[00:07:44] or a Pollard will pull off a Pollard and finish the match. So has Rohit Sharma as well right? Yeah. And it's a worry as an Indian cricket fan also but just not to side step surface question the bowling obviously has also been struggling

[00:07:58] but I think where our main area of where we're missing out on is really the top order and the middle order both failing so I think our bigger weakness if I had to compare would be our batter.

[00:08:12] Okay now I wanted to move to Mitri as well with the Bidhaar and how Chennai is a booking fan. The team certainly has kept you on your toes of course this season but they are defending champions and you have superstars like Tony, Dopalakappa, Ambedarayudh, Vain, Bravo

[00:08:30] but I wonder what do you think of your team's performance so far especially with these superstars on board? So actually you know this year they have not kept us on our toes at all because Chennai is always known for taking the match right up to the last over

[00:08:46] and sort of just turning everything around and making it making the fans really proud of what they are doing on field and also have that will to sort of win and come back from really like situations where

[00:09:02] there is no way to win so that is what my team was actually known for but this year you know I watched at least two three matches because I honestly do not have the will to watch

[00:09:13] the other matches but I see that you know they are really lacking that energy that fire that you know the team is really known for and I have to grudgingly agree with Meghna here

[00:09:24] that you know in Chennai's case also I think the biggest blunder we made is with the auctions we tried to retain people who are well past their prime and you know as I mean no offense to all

[00:09:38] that they've contributed to the team and you know how they've seen the team but honestly I also want to you know ask the selectors the coach and the then captain what were they

[00:09:49] thinking you know when you retain you know how do you retain a Raidu over a fastu plasee like you know that I think is a very like strange strategy that they followed and you know even people

[00:10:02] like Mohi Nali and Utapahu have done and who performed really well for us are just not like firing so you know there was something really wrong with the entire auction strategy yes you know

[00:10:15] they wanted to retain a lot of people and wanted to have a lot of old guard but this strategy while it worked in the previous auctions has just not worked this time and I'm sure you know going

[00:10:27] forward since you know this was also the mega auction this year I also don't know how the team is going to go forward you know in the next three years and also we spent a bomb on you know getting

[00:10:41] Deepak Chahar but you know we clearly also lack an Indian pacer who could match up to everyone else in other teams also sorry if I can mention one more thing that I think lack of Dhoni at the helm

[00:10:56] is also really impacting the team yeah I want to ask you about that as well yeah yeah I like is this also like a bittersweet moment a season for you given that this may or may not be

[00:11:07] Dhoni's last I feel so you know just before the season started and he said that he would like to play his last T20 match in Chennai so I'm hoping this is not you know his final season also I

[00:11:20] would feel really bad as a fan to watch him go out like this so I really hope there is one more season and CSK comes back I don't know some miracle happens next year and they actually play

[00:11:31] to their potential but it's not bittersweet at all it's rather like very very bitter to see this happen to the team and I really think a huge chunk of that also comes with Dhoni not being

[00:11:45] the captain okay Meghnaar yeah do you think to say it's basically covid versus Dhoni's results he's been hoping to have a last season in Chennai that last season in Chennai just doesn't seem to

[00:12:01] happen thanks to this god for sake but but but the Dhoni will also remain very much in CSK I don't know I've not seen the contracts but word is that he's signed a contract for the next three

[00:12:11] years right so we're hoping covid is now like detracting you know you know what I what I feel about CSK is that I know it's very counterintuitive thing to say but I feel that the reason they're

[00:12:24] playing so poorly this time is because they won last year and I'll tell you what I mean it's because they won with what was called a dad's army last year that they felt that even in this mega

[00:12:36] auction when they had to rebuild their entire team they should again go for the dad's army but but look at that dad's army and look at this dad's army that dad's army did not look jaded at all

[00:12:48] all these players here are looking extremely jaded extremely tired if I may also say you know well someone like a faf brings in so much I'm just saying like last year when you had

[00:12:58] faf on the other hand and you had him guiding Ruthuraj Gekwal you saw how much of a difference it made but this year that is not there so even like one or two key players who are missing

[00:13:11] I think that has added like a lot on the plate like even someone like Shane Watson who was a very crucial part but if I can just add one quick thing I am so happy that Chennai

[00:13:22] are so close to us on the points table because at least there's that one saving grace that we're not languishing at 10th and Chennai is like sort of making its way to the playoffs and

[00:13:32] stuff so at least we're happy for that hopefully Chennai won't make it to the playoffs there's still that slim chance but hopefully they won't okay on that grim note we will now move to Devayan

[00:13:41] when peak world Kolkata now Kolkata has Devayan started off the IPL 2022 campaign on a positive note with three wins in the first four matches and but their campaign has clearly also gone

[00:13:55] as derail now to with four matches now in a row which have lost two by very heavy margin so since two which were very tight losses what do you think has been causing this downward spiral

[00:14:07] like could it be this constant chopping and changing in the playing level so I think like I can break it down to like three factors or so like first of all the team even like straight

[00:14:20] up from the retentions like they chose the four players which the team would be heavily heavily dependent on so the problem becomes at the moment one of these three one of these

[00:14:30] four players don't fire or is not informed the team just breaks down completely like if you look at it so far like in the season it the team has been relying only on Andhra Rasul and Sunil Narayan

[00:14:45] who have been the two best performers for KKR this season right and you have the other two retentions of Ekateshayar and Varun Chakravarty who are heavily out of form they are just not

[00:14:56] being able to play like they they are ending up costing the team the match so that it that itself becomes a problem auction strategy I don't know what auction strategy they had

[00:15:10] that they went for like they had some good buys and I think their biggest loss was definitely Alex Sales like if had Alex Sales not pulled out of the tournament things would have been better for them

[00:15:22] because they would finally have an opening partnership and an opening combo and that would kind of settle the rest of the middle order because like for the most part when I watched KKR Bat I feel like maybe they focused on the bowling during the auctions and when I

[00:15:37] watched them bowl then I feel like oh no they probably going to focus on they focused on batting during the auctions so that's how much like I'm oscillating so that that's basically the thing

[00:15:49] and other than that I feel like the KKR has always had this problem with management they've had a serious problem with management where the management ends up interfering in the team selection and everything because like how do you justify playing a like playing inexperienced

[00:16:07] players over experienced players like when you actually have the option of playing them I want to know do you think like like generally having a new captain is also like a pain point

[00:16:18] like as team take time to adjust to like new leadership as well so I mean I have personally I have always liked Shreyasayur as a captain and I feel like like some of the calls that he made at

[00:16:30] least in the early matches were really good like the first match they lost that was against RCB and that match was like the calls that Shreyasayur was taking on the field was like really good

[00:16:43] so I feel like yes of course you have to give the captain like some time to adjust but it's not like Shreyasayur is a first-time captain he has captained Delhi Capitals before and

[00:16:57] he went on to even take them to the finals and there have been first-time captains leading new teams and still doing well like if you take Gujarat Titans for example right they are top of

[00:17:10] the table with a whole new team they are like they don't even have any players who have played in that team before the team is playing for the first time so like you can't say that you

[00:17:20] know it's just because it's the captain's first time captaining a new team is why it's lacking so I mean I mean it is definitely a factor I'm sure like the team would need some time to adjust

[00:17:35] and everything but it's just not a justified excuse. Devayan who do you think has disappointed you the most given that no no I don't mean to I don't mean to be a sound obnoxious or anything

[00:17:49] but generally given that Ayur has been playing well pretty much in every match and we had massive expectations from him but other than that who do you think has not lived up to the expectations

[00:18:01] because looking at that lineup it seems there are people like Finch there's Russell and bowling Mito Omesh Yadav has been doing everything he can Russell comes and takes four wickets in the last over or sometimes he smacks 70 off for 26 so it seems like individual performances

[00:18:17] people are doing their best but who do you think is not laying up to the expectations that collective team effort is going down. Everybody every single person who was there at

[00:18:27] the auction for KK did not live up to expectations. Okay now Saptar Shri I wanted to ask you because you haven't stopped smiling and dissing the other others since the start of the podcast

[00:18:39] your team Sunrise of Hezerbad has surprised a lot of people as well with their performance this season so I'm sure you also must be very very happy with your one my like performance

[00:18:49] this season like what do you have to say about your team and how it will go on. See okay so I'll tell you my honest reason for supporting SRH in the first place it's so I tend to have extreme

[00:18:59] sympathies for underdogs okay and even within the underdogs like Durse from from afar SRH SRH's team just did not look that solid um it did not look like a bujrat titans where you have Mohammad Shammi opening the bowling you have an all-rounder like Pandya you have Vej

[00:19:18] Sivatia we all know what we can do with etc um but I don't know oh and Rashid Khan yeah yeah Rashid Khan how can I forget Khan yeah but like you know in in SRH people like Abhishek Sharma

[00:19:33] who just comes and smacks four five fours I mean who knew I didn't know he could do that so so SRH Durse it just looks so ordinary that I thought okay you know what maybe I will just push for this

[00:19:44] underdog that was reason number one reason number two was Cain Williamson okay not Cain Williamson the batsman everybody knows his class but it was Cain Williamson the character like ever since you know there's that famous picture of him just sadly smiling after losing the work up

[00:20:00] like after that I've just in my mind it's been he has to win something I just want him to lift one trophy so if so do you think this year you will win the IPN of course have you seen our bowling

[00:20:16] Cain Williamson did lift the test championship trophy I didn't test the trophy reward no no test but like in like non-white clothes let's just put it like that you know that image is still

[00:20:26] stuck where he that that really hurt me so I am supporting Cain Williamson the captain and of course reason number three which has of course that reason has become stronger in the past few

[00:20:37] matches similar to what the whole country is thinking which is the bowling and of course Umran Malik is the biggest standout commentators are talking about him fans are there people in the stadium

[00:20:47] are holding posters saying I've come here only to see Umran Malik which I completely agree with even if I would go in this heat to watch a game I would only go to watch him but it's not

[00:20:56] just Umran Malik you know you have Marco Janssen taking three wickets in eight nine balls cleaning up the top order Bhuvaneshwar Kumar swinging it all along of course Janssen majorly messed

[00:21:06] up in the last game so much so that Murli Dharan was seen yelling at the sidelines why is he bowling full? Himat did you call Saptar to just like raid on our parade on our collective? No I just wanted

[00:21:17] I just wanted a happy face and like happy voice in this entire jar. I want to ask everyone like whom do you think will win this year like Meghnaad whom do you think? Look I think

[00:21:28] Gujarat is definitely going to storm into the playoffs very soon right like in a match or two and given how they've dominated so far I don't know I possibly put my money on Gujarat

[00:21:42] but I'm actually supporting Rajasthan as in like who I'd want to win once I was out of the game I'm actually supporting Rajasthan, Joss Butler has been phenomenal and Rajasthan just have this I don't know likeability to them SRH has that likeability. Joss Butler so I'm backing

[00:22:03] Rajasthan but I think Gujarat might take the title. You cannot spell likeability without William Sun what likeability? I think Saptar actually made me a convert so this I mean convert for this particular season. In the real world you would support SRH in like the imaginary way.

[00:22:23] In my heart it's always CSK. Well guys thank you so much for all your time and all your inputs as well we have D Lucknow Giants and Punjab King playing today so I'm sure Meghnaad will also

[00:22:35] looking forward to that match very hard with money on it probably but on that note for live updates analysis of this IPL season head over to the concept side of course if you're not subscribed

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